Kurt A. Smemo, PhD
Phone: |
440.602.8011 |  |
E-mail: |
kurt.smemo@gmail.com | |
Title: |
Staff Scientist | |
Education: |
Ph.D. 2004, Cornell University M.S. 1998, University of Illinois B.S. 1993, University of Montana |
|
Adjunct Appointments: |
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Biology, Case Western Reserve University
Adjunct Assistant Professor, W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University |
Curriculum Vitae
Research Interests
It is indisputable that human activities have fundamentally altered Earth's ecosystems. Our ability to solve many environmental and societal problems over the next several decades will depend on our understanding of how ecosystems function and respond to current and future environmental changes. A disproportionate amount those functions and responses occur or are mediated in soil. In general, my research questions address how plants and soil organisms interact with their environment to control the cycling of carbon and nutrients via decomposition of organic matter, and how those processes are altered by global environmental changes.
For example, acid rain and associated nitrogen depositon – pollution derived from burning fossil fuel – can alter the function of both plants and soil microorganisms. This is particularly relevant in the Great Lakes region and Northeast Ohio where acid rain and land use change has increased acidity and the bioavailability of nitrogen in soils, surface waters, and ground waters.
Below are a sample of my projects and funding. In my lab, we take a collaborative approach to science, and we employ a variety of methods and techniques ranging from stable and radio-isotopes to microbial community characterization.
Some Current Projects
- Biogeography and spatial structure of ecological communities in relation to ecosystem properties (more).
- Soil acidification and its effects on carbon and nutrient cycling and productivity in hardwood forests (more).
- Fungal diversity and ecosystem function in beech-maple forests (more).
- Winter soil ecology and altered precipitaton dynamics (more).
- Controls on the production and emission of greenhouses gases (methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide) from forest, wetland, and agricultural soils (more).
Recent Publications
Burke, D.J., J.C. López-Gutiérrez, K.A. Smemo, and C.R. Chan Vegetation and soil environment influence the spatial distribution of root-associated fungi in a mature beech-maple forest. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, in press.
Mahaney, W., K.A. Smemo., and K. Gross. 2008. Decadal scale impacts of C4 grass reintroductions on soil carbon and nitrogen cycling in successional ecosystems. Oecologia 157:295–305. PDF
Smemo, K.A. and J.B. Yavitt. 2007. Evidence for anaerobic methane oxidation in freshwater peatland ecosystems. Geomicrobiology Journal 24(7):1-15. PDF
Smemo, K.A., D.R. Zak, K.S. Pregitzer and A.J. Burton. 2007. Qualitative characteristics of DOC exports fromNorthern Hardwood Forests in response to Chronic experimental NO3- deposition. Ecosystems 10(3): 369-379. PDF
Mahaney, W.M., K.A. Smemo and J.B. Yavitt. 2006. Impacts of Lythrum salicaria invasion on plant community and soil properties in two wetlands in Central New York, USA. Canadian Journal of Botany 84:1-8. PDF
Smemo, K.A., D.R. Zak and K.S. Pregitzer. 2006. Chronic NO3- deposition reduces the retention of fresh leaf litter-derived DOC in Northern Hardwood Forest soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 38:1340-1347. PDF
Smemo, K.A. and J.B. Yavitt. 2006. A Multi-year perspective on CH4 cycling in a shallow peat fen in Central New York State, USA. Wetlands 26(1):20-29. PDF
